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Friday, June 1, 2018

United/Divided: A Night of Political Theater

The New Voices Series is looking for your original 20-40 minute political scripts to fit our Fall play event “United/Divided: A Night of Political Theater.” Our call is open from June 1 to June 30, 2018. It is free to submit and no pay is provided. This show is a one night only event on November 5th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria in Alexandria, Va.

THEME: United/Divided is intended to showcase topics that are political in nature: scripts can include histories, dramas, comedies, satire/parodies, or issues currently in the American national political consciousness. For example, a script focused on DACA/Dreamers would fit, a show about a parochial issue in rural VA would not. If you have any questions about whether your script might fit, email newtheatervoices@gmail.com.

PLEASE NOTE BEFORE YOU SUBMIT: Audience members will be of all political persuasions. Shows MUST be something that Trump and Hillary voters and everyone in between can find enjoyable, humorous and/or thought provoking. That does not mean you need to shy away from difficult subjects, or that your scripts must consider all political views/parties equal, but scripts that are simply rants against a political party/individual will not be considered. LTA is right outside D.C., so expect a high level of political awareness and familiarity with the political system from the audience. Multiple members of the reading committee are involved in politics/government (lobbyists, federal employees, and include Democrats, Republicans, and Independents) so shows that do not demonstrate an accurate assessment of the subject matter will not score or perform well. That isn’t to say you can’t poke fun; simply that if your gritty drama has a Congressman vetoing a bill or something similar, it won’t be a finalist.

Requirements of the script:

Must deal with American politics; see the “Before You Submit” section if you are unsure if your script qualifies.

Must be original; can have been performed other places.

Must have a run time of between 20-40 minutes, no intermission. Scripts with run times outside of this will not be considered.

Strong language and mature themes are very welcome, but we do not consider shows with nudity.

No musicals/scripts with music/movement pieces will be accepted at this time; anything else is fair game.

Characters may be of any age, but shows that require child actors do not generally score well, due to the difficulty in casting.

Before you submit:

Please do not submit a script previously sent for New Voices.

We accept scripts from writers of any age; in the event that two scripts are of otherwise equal quality, we will select the writer under 40. You may choose not to identify if you are under or over 40, but will not be given the under-40 preference as a tie-breaker if so.

One script may be submitted per playwright; playwrights who submit multiple scripts will have all scripts removed from consideration, due to individuals spamming New Voices in past calls.

10-15 pages of the winning script will be posted online during the audition call in a google doc so that actors may familiarize themselves with the material.

The Process:

Scripts must be submitted in blind PDF format by June 30, 2018. No late or incomplete entries will be considered.

All scripts will receive a notification if they are finalists or not shortly after the closing date; the top five to seven scripts will move on to an in-person reading of the selection committee in May.
Those that receive a reading but are not selected will receive brief feedback as to why the committee did not select them; scripts not receiving a reading will not be given feedback.

Multiple winning scripts may be selected; winner(s) will be notified by August 1 2018.

The winning script(s) will be performed at the Little Theater of Alexandria in Alexandria, VA on November 5, 2018. The winner agrees that no rights of any kind will be paid for this performance and that New Voices will bear the sole responsibility of selecting the director and any/all cast and crew. New Voices will also be responsible for paying all expenses for the mounting of this show. New Voices will not pay for the playwright to travel to DC, but will offer free tickets to the playwright if they choose to attend. The winner also agrees that no other theater in DC, MD or VA will be allowed to perform the play from the time of selection until December 2018.

ABOUT US: New Voices is a project of NextGenLTA, which represents those under 40 who act, tech, direct and enjoy theater at the Little Theater of Alexandria. New Voices puts on performances of new work twice a year with directors under 40. Playwrights and characters may be of any age.

DISCLAIMER

NYCPlaywrights makes every effort to confirm the validity of the calls for submissions posted on this site, as well as confirming that the opportunity meets our criteria of: a. open to New Yorkers and b. does not charge a submission fee. (Please note that we do run paid advertisements although not often, for opportunities not available to New Yorkers.) However, no guarantees are made by NYCPlaywrights as to the postings listed on this site and submitters are advised to use their own discretion when submitting work. If you discover anything wrong with any of the calls for submissions we post here (including if a submission fee is charged - and we missed it somehow) please let us know at info@nycplaywrights.org.Thanks!

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